Trick

Struggling financially, and months behind with her rent, magician Naoko Yamada responds to an advertisement from Professor Jiro Ueda. He is offering a reward of ¥300,000 for anyone who can convince him of their supernatural powers. Naoko aims to collect the cash by trickery, using skills that she has learned throughout her career as a magician. However, Ueda will only pay out if Naoko helps him to uncover the mysterious secrets of The Mother's Fountain, a religious cult.

Première diffusion : 7 juillet 2000

Naoko and Jiro rescue Miwako and flee, but Jiro's car runs out of fuel. They are forced to seek refuge in a house owned by a hunter called Aoki, but Big Mother and the cult know precisely where they are.

Première diffusion : 14 juillet 2000

Left with little choice, Naoko and Jiro return to the cult's headquarters. Naoko is compelled to shoot Jiro to prove her beliefs, and she receives a chilling prediction from Big Mother.

Première diffusion : 28 juillet 2000

Jiro and Naoko are enlisted by the police to find out why the entire population of a village has disappeared. When they arrive, they meet the sinister Miracle MItsui. Can Mitsui make Jiro's head disappear?

Première diffusion : 4 août 2000

As Naoko, Jiro and Yabe unravel Miracle Mitsui's elaborate web of deception, a much more sinister truth begins to emerge.

Première diffusion : 11 août 2000

Miyuki Kurosaka claims that she can kill using psychic powers. Naoko and Jiro don't believe it but then bodies start to pile up.

Première diffusion : 18 août 2000

Kurosaka mimes another murder and a third man dies. Satomi makes an impromptu visit to see Naoko and Ueda is inspired to solve the case by watching his favorite TV show.

Première diffusion : 25 août 2000

A man claiming to be a clairvoyant is charging exorbitant prices for his good luck charms. Naoko and Ueda must find a way to expose his deception.

Première diffusion : 1 septembre 2000

Naoko speaks to her dead father. Two men from Kokumon island, her mother's old home, contact Naoko and insist that her spiritual powers are needed there. Meanwhile, Ueda experiments with an aphrodisiac.

Première diffusion : 8 septembre 2000

Naoko goes to Kokumon island to marry and her new husband reveals some alarming details. Ueda turns up in pursuit of the treasure on Kokumon, but when it's discovered, neither he nor Naoko get what they expected.

Première diffusion : 15 septembre 2000

A hotel owner approaches Ueda, concerned that one of his guests dies on January 11th each year. Ueda and Naoko travel out to the hotel at Six Graves Village to solve the mystery.

Première diffusion : 11 janvier 2002

The villagers of Six Graves believe that the deaths which occur each January 11th are caused by vengeful spirits of wounded warriors. Naoko and Ueda are not so sure about that.

Première diffusion : 18 janvier 2002

The first half concludes the "Six Graves Village" story, in which the mystery is solved. The second half begins a new story, "The 100% Accurate Fortune Teller". Kenzo Abe approaches Ueda to help him solve the mystery of a fortune teller whose predictions are accurate. Woe betide those who ignore her warnings.

Première diffusion : 25 janvier 2002

Yoshiko Suzuki, the fortune teller, seems to possess extraordinary powers, even to the point of being able to warp time itself. Naoko and Ueda remain unconvinced.

Première diffusion : 25 janvier 2002

Naoko is dared by Yoshiko to drink a glass of water, with a 33% chance that it contains poison. The mystery of Yoshiko's power is solved.

Première diffusion : 8 février 2002

Yamada and Ueno are approached by Mr. Okamoto. He wants them to check the psychic abilities of Mr. Fukami of the Parapsychology Academy. Fukami claims to be a psi-trailer, someone who can trace missing people. Three years ago, Okamoto's fiancee got into a strange taxi and was never seen again. Three other women also went missing around the same time. Once Fukami brings his powers to bear, the bodies of three of the women are quickly discovered, but not Okamoto's fiancee.

Première diffusion : 15 février 2002

Okamoto falls to his death, apparently killed by spirits of the dead, but his death reveals a clue. Yamada uncovers a web of secret family ties, debts and deception, but will she be able to claim the 10 million yen reward?

Première diffusion : 22 février 2002

A young boy appears to be able to call on God to damn people. Ueda is asked by Emi to investigate her cousin's death. This was apparently a result of God's judgment after she asked the boy to punish her cousin following a minor disagreement. Ueda, smitten by Emi's charms, is unable to refuse. But when he approaches Naoko to assist him, she is already involved in an investigation of her own.

Première diffusion : 1 mars 2002

Naoko is suspected of murder. Photographs that she took show evidence that link both her and Ueda's investigations. The true cause of "God's damnation" is revealed. And is the lovely Emi all that she appears to be?

Première diffusion : 8 mars 2002

Yamada and Ueda are approached by a construction manager from Kisamura village. There are plans to construct a major highway through the woods near Kisamura, but no-one leaves those woods alive. A sorcerer from the Southern islands is reported to live there, so Yamada and Ueda must investigate.

Première diffusion : 15 mars 2002

People are dying violently and everyone is growing mysterious hair from unusual places. Who is doing the killing? Can it really be the sorcerer? As the body count starts to rise, it falls to Satomi to solve the mystery.

Première diffusion : 22 mars 2002

Ueda and Yamada confront Genjyo, a man believed to have the power to control anything with his words. Though suspicious of his power, Yamada ends up following his words when her action puts Ueda's life at stake.

Première diffusion : 16 octobre 2003

Yamada and Ueda try to solve the deaths of two brothers thought to have been caused by Genjyo, but when the truth is revealed, they discover that even Genjyo has been part of a corrupt plan from the beginning.

Première diffusion : 23 octobre 2003

Ueda and Yamada visit a village to protect a precious earthen figurine from Slit Mikako, a woman believed to possess the power to teleport anything and possibly the reincarnation of a legendary figure with the same ability.

Première diffusion : 30 octobre 2003

Slit Mikako succeeds in taking the figurine but claims she did so to protect it from illegal diversion. When her identity is revealed, her true purpose is uncovered-something no one anticipated.

Première diffusion : 6 novembre 2003

Ueda and Yamada try to uncover the secret behind a mysterious nursing home where death seemingly does not exist. Their suspicion turns to shock when they witness Akachi, the facility's enigmatic psychic leader, bring the dead back to life.

Première diffusion : 13 novembre 2003

Yamada and Ueda unravel the tricks behind Akachi's supposed miracles. But they have yet to realize that the nursing home itself was designed as a stage from the beginning. What truth lies behind the roles played by the home's residents?

Première diffusion : 20 novembre 2003

Compelled to leave their home, the Kameyama family opens a forbidden room said to hold something dreadful. The act awakens a power hidden in their poetry and wordplay, and the language that once defined them begins to foretell tragedy.

Première diffusion : 27 novembre 2003

Yamada deciphers the Kameyama family's pun-laden poems and concludes that the killer must be one of their own. But when the true motive comes to light, another truth is revealed, leading the family toward a shocking outcome.

Première diffusion : 4 décembre 2003

Ueda and Yamada confront a psychic who has returned to exact revenge on those who branded her a fraud and expelled her 25 years earlier. But when Yamada attempts to expose her deception, she is met with an unexpected death.

Première diffusion : 11 décembre 2003

Yamada is taken to a remote island. Pressured to reveal a secret word said to unlock a sealed door, she becomes entangled in a mystery connected to something her mother brought from her home island of Kokumon-tou.

Première diffusion : 18 décembre 2003